Friday, April 4, 2014

My Writing Process ~~ Suspenseful Romance



I was invited by Trish Jackson to take place in this Writing Process blog tour.  She is a romance writer who focuses on romance with a western flair. Her Redneck PI and Capricorn series are a must read for all romance readers who enjoy reading suspenseful romance set in raw and rural settings with plenty of heat and grit—a  “what will happen next” romance mystery. A link to her books.

What am I working on?
That’s an enormous question for me. Front Row Center took only ninety days to write but a year and a half to edit. It was of epic length at greater than 292 thousand words. It received many 5-star reviews and garnered interest from Scott C Brown, a Hollywood director/roducer/screenwriter to adapt this novel into a feature film and mini-series script. Now I’m in the depts of writing a screen play. Writing a script is an entirely different animal than writing a book.

I have the sequel to Front Row Center, titled “Remember”, in the editing process. This book will be a more reasonable length of 88 to 90 thousand words and can stand alone on its own without the need for new readers to read Front Row Center first. Though I hope they would want to read how the journey of Taylor and Larry was born.

I have a cookbook, “Front Row Center’s Passion in the Kitchen” ready for format to an ebook as well as print. It includes delicious French recipes, gorgeous shirtless men, and a storyline that runs throughout the book.

Another project waiting for the illustrator is a children’s picture book, “Jacques Learns a Lesson”, which brings home the acceptance of differences in others.

I’ve started writing another book with the working title, “Mechanic in Heels”; a story of a female paid assassin with a romantic complication.

I’m also plotting out the third book related to “Front Row Center”, which will center on Taylor’s daughter and the consequences of her choices.

 How does my work differ from others of the same genre? 
I involve the push and pull of moral decisions one must make. When the heart rules the head, disaster can affect not just the person making their decision but also has ramifications for others. As one question is solved, I create another, which a character must answer. I love the complexity of subplots and rich settings of Europe, and the glamorous Hollywood scene.

My audience is female, though I do have some male reader fans. My main characters tend to be in their forties and fifties. Love is timeless. Passion spans the entire lifetime.

 Why do I write what I do? 
I’m fascinated by romance and intrigue. While romance will always be the main thread in my plot, mystery and intrigue gives more depth and conflict to my characters. I love to create a problem and then see how my hero or heroine will meet that obstacle.

How does your writing process work? 
I do a lot of mental plotting before the first word is printed on the page. A lot of talking about the characters; answering the “What if?” questions. I run my plot by my husband, who’s an avid reader.  He gives excellent feedback on what is logical and what wouldn’t work.

I don’t use an outline, as I find that is restricting. I guess you could say I’m a modified pantster—write from the seat of my pants with a mental outline I can change at will as the story flows from me.

As I write, I create a separate document that lists each character with their characteristics. Below that, I write a brief summary of each chapter. That’s a great tool so I don’t get lost in my own manuscript and can keep the plot on a logical path..

My website: www.wordsandpassion.com
FRONT ROW CENTER on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Front-Row-Center-Cynthia-Ainsworthe/dp/0980245907/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345825833&sr=1-1&keywords=cynthia+b+ainsworthe
This wonderful author will follow me on this tour:
Anna George Othitis http://about.me/anna.othitis/#